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719. Our Oldest Tree

Our oldest tree is a giant Kapok (silk-cotton tree) and lives in Hòfi Pastor* (Priest’s Orchard). She was brought to Curaçao over 400 years ago by the Caiquetios, a tribe of peaceful Arawak Indians who fled Tierra Firme (Venezuela). She’s believed to be over 800 years old!

Her sensuous, capricious form… deep, far-flung roots… arms twisting and turning reaching into the future… leaves and soft, billowy cotton whispering the wondrous wisdom of the past…. is guaranteed to leave you in awe.

Photo by Alisa Paun; Pavone Photography.

* Hòfi Pastor was sold to a catholic priest, Monseigneur Nieuwindt, in the early 1800s. A tireless human rights activist, he would hold weekly Sunday masses – in Papiamentu – and over 500 slaves would attend. Plantation owners feared that their slaves would rebel against them, so the governor put an end to the weekly sessions in 1829. Mgr. Nieuwindt received permission to build a proper church in Barber: Barber Church, right next to his hòfi, shortly thereafter.

Photo by Alisa Paun; Pavone Photography.

Photo by Rita Mendes-Flohr.

Photo by Rita Mendes-Flohr.

Visitor Info:

Take the road to Barber; Hòfi Pastor is next to Barber Church, before an area of trees lining both sides of the road. Hòfi Pastor is open from 9 pm to 5 pm. Closed on Fridays. Entrance fee is NAfl. 5.00 pp ($2.90 pp). For guided hikes with groups in the park and long hikes to the rough northern seacoast, call 5999- 8642207 or 5999- 7373965.